Garlic Seared Pork with Oven Roasted Vegetables

Garlic Seared Pork 

with Oven Roasted Vegetables

Guys and Gals, this meal to me is what it's all about.  A simple, three component meal, that doesn't leave you with the feeling that something's missing when you finish.

I'm a big fan of the flavor and versatility of the other white meat - but I can't say I'm the biggest fan of traditional pork loin.  I've seen this product take a dry, almost chalky form by many a cook.  Thankfully not all portions of the loin are created equal.

If you over cook traditional pork loin, or tenderloin for that matter (and by overcooking I mean past 145F) it can be underwhelming and dry.  In most supermarkets these days,  you will find a pre-packaged (and sometimes misleading) cut of meat dubbed a pork sirloin roast.  This is essentially the darker, fatty end of the pork loin.  This cut is far superior in flavor than it's often anemic brethren.  It is also a bit more (although not fully) forgiving to temperature.  Most importantly for us Ketoians, is also higher in fat.

This recipe makes five preps, and will be ready in roughly an hour and a half. 

This is what you'll need for the pork

• Pork sirloin/roast..........2#
• Olive oil.......................1 tbsp
• Chopped garlic............1 tsp
• Italian season...............2 tsp
• Kosher salt...................1 tsp
• Cumin..........................1 tsp
• Homemade Stock.........1 1/2 C
• Butter............................2 tbsp (later)

How to make the pork...

Begin by preheating your oven to 400F, and putting a cast iron skillet on medium heat.

While your oven is preheating,  in a large glass bowl add your pork and coat with your chopped garlic.  Combine your spices in a small bowl, and coat the roast.

Once your skillet is hot, add your oil.  Once you see slight ripples forming on the surface of the olive oil,  add your roast.  If you have a cast iron press in your kitchen, this would be a great time to use it.  I didn't have one, and didn't get the level of sear I was expecting - This could very well be due to my impatience.  Be patient, but don't burn your garlic.  Sear for a few minutes, then turn and repeat.  (no need in searing all sides,  just one flip will suffice.

Add your stock to the pan, and toss it in the oven.

It's important that you use either homemade stock, or a high quality jarred or frozen version.  As I discussed last week in the Random Thoughts: Bone Broth article, you'll need something high in collagen.  Those boxed "stocks"  just don't have it.  We're going to reduce this sauce to make a hearty and glorious glaze for the pork -  Boxed stock will leave you with a salty, watery mess.  

Cook the roast until it hits an internal temperature of 140F in the thickest part of the roast.  Place the roast on a cutting board or plate, and cover with foil -  To be continued.

Take the skillet that has the remaining stock, and place on medium high heat to reduce.  While the stock is reducing, let's turn our attention to the vegetables. First - crank your oven up to 450.

What you'll need for the vegetables...

• Green beans, whole - fresh..... 12 oz
• White mushrooms, quartered...12 oz
• Red pepper, batons...................1 large
• Olive oil....................................2 tbsp
• Garlic, chopped.........................1 tsp
• Kosher salt................................3/4 tsp
• Black pepper..............................1/4 tsp

Let's stop here for a second and briefly discuss batons.  Batons, which are short for the french term batonnet ("tiny sticks"), are a larger version of the knife cut we call a julienne.  a julienne is traditionally 1/8"x1/8" x 1 to 2" (although I've been in some kitchens where it's finer than that, and is the starting point of your brunoise cut -  which is 1/16"x1/16"x1/16")..  A baton is traditionally 1/4"x1/4"x2"...  None of that's important for this prep -  what is important is that you cut your peppers thick enough to tolerate the blazing furnace it's about to be engulfed in..  Back to the vegetables.

Combine all listed ingredients above in a large mixing bowl, and evenly distribute on a sheet pan -  lined with foil or parchment if you must -  set your timer for 9 minutes and toss them in the oven.  when you pull them, your vegetables will still have a slight crunch - well, all but the mushrooms anyway.  Set the vegetables aside

By this point, your sauce should be the appropriate consistency.  What you're going for here is when you can coat the back of a spoon with your sauce,  this is perfect.  Reduce any further, and you'll find you'll be plating globs of sauce on top of your p

ork instead of this beautiful glaze. Add your 2 tbsp of butter that was listed previously, and whisk until homogeneous.  

After you slice your pork in 1/4" to 1/2" slices, It's time to grab your meal prep containers.  

For the first layer, evenly distribute your roasted vegetables. Shingle with your slices of pork.  To properly portion, you can do this one of two ways.  The most accurate way would be taring out a plate on your kitchen scale,  weighing all of your pork on said plate, and dividing that weight by five -  plating that amount on each prep.  They way I do it however, is ensure each slice is relatively the same, and divide the number of slices by five - and plate.  Using a teaspoon, take your glace and spoon evenly over the top of the pork.  I use a tablespoon -  this allows me to hit all five containers, and starting over until I run out of stock.  I ended up with one ounce of sauce per steak, but this was due to the collagen level of my stock, and how much it had reduced -  yours will vary. 

There you have it, a simplistic take on a home style dinner - meal prep style.  Nutritionally, this meal hovers right around 400 calories, with 21.7g of fat, 35.4g of protein, and 7 net carbs.  I'd say that carb number is pretty good, considering how many vegetables you're getting in this meal, and a welcome break from cauliflower and zucchini (as much as I love them.)

In the next upcoming recipes, I'm going to really work at bumping up the fat, and lowering the protein - these meals have been delicious and low carb, which is great -  but it's time to up the fat.  Thanks for reading, and if you have any ingredient suggestions, let me know in the comments below.  I would love to hear from you guys. 

See you Friday!